


An Interesting Tail

by misskatieleigh



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Bodhi gets adopted by a furry creature, Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso - Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 12:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12705273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misskatieleigh/pseuds/misskatieleigh
Summary: An adorable Space Creature adopts Bodhi, and Bodhi doesn't know what do about it.





	An Interesting Tail

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SassySnowperson (DramaticEntrance)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticEntrance/gifts).



It was frigidly cold in the mess hall. It was frigidly cold on most of the base, nevermind outside the hastily constructed walls, but for some reason, the mess hall seemed to capture the cold and waft it down the back of Bodhi’s neck whenever he was trying to eat. Bodhi wondered, for perhaps the five hundredth time, whose idea it had been exactly to set up the Rebellion on Hoth. He had a piece of his mind he’d like to give them. 

Jyn and Cassian sat across from him, shoulders tucked close together. He didn’t begrudge them their happiness, though he wouldn’t have minded sitting between them, try to capture some of that warmth for himself. A swirl of cold air blew down from the ceiling and Bodhi shivered. Underneath his coat, somewhere in the vicinity of his ribs, something shivered back. 

Wait, what?

Reluctantly, Bodhi unzipped his coat and reached inside. The fur lining felt the same, a little bit sweaty perhaps, but that was normal. He was hot and cold so often these days that he was sure he smelled like a tauntaun underneath it all. His nose was stuffy so often that he couldn’t reliably smell himself, but it seemed like a safe bet. He slipped his hand in a little higher, and felt something wrap around one finger, a pinprick of sharp nails digging through the thick padding of his glove. Bodhi jerked his hand back, dragging whatever the hell it was out of the confines of his coat and dropping it onto the table. 

It was gray and white, with a thick fluffy sort of tail and big eyes. It crouched down in front of him on the table and let out a screech, ‘eyaaii!’

Jyn dropped her fork onto her tray with a clatter and burst out laughing. Bodhi, who had picked up his own fork and was currently pointing it at the creature to keep it from crawling back into his coat, did not see what could possibly be funny about this situation. 

“What system did you find  _ that _ in, Bodhi?” she asked, shoulders still shaking with laughter. 

Bodhi looked up, trying to keep the fluffy little demon in his sights while simultaneously glaring at Jyn. “I don’t even know what  _ that _ is, nevermind where it came from! I just know that it was in my coat.” His voice slid from anger to woe in the length of a sentence, his gaze drifting forlornly to the creature now turned away from him and happily eating whatever sort of mashed root the kitchen had put out for the day. 

Cassian, who had been silent up until then, made a noise that was a cross between a wheeze and a hiccup, the edge of his mouth twitching at random when Bodhi looked up at him. Bodhi huffed. “This is not funny. What is that thing? It’s  _ eating _ my lunch!”

From behind Bodhi, a familiar voice piped up, bright and cheerful. “Whoa, how’d you get a Nelvaan squirrel on base? I thought those guys were extinct!” Luke, who had the uncanny ability to make everything seem like a good time, even when it involved imminent danger, slid onto the bench next to Bodhi. He smiled, then reached out for the creature - the  _ squirrel _ , Bodhi reminded himself - his gloves stripped off of his hands. Looking up from the remains of Bodhi’s lunch, the squirrel’s fur stood up on end in a straight line down its back, fluffy tail puffing out to twice its normal size. It hissed, and dove for Luke’s hand. 

Acting on instinct, Bodhi grabbed for the squirrel, just managing to get his hand around it’s waist before it got it’s claws into Luke’s hand. Luke looked shocked, like his reality had shifted because he’d been rejected by a creature that had somehow stowed away in Bodhi’s coat. The squirrel struggled for a second against Bodhi’s grip, then looked up at him and, for lack of a better term, melted. Tail wrapping around Bodhi’s wrist, the squirrel curled itself into Bodhi’s hand and nuzzled at his fingers through his gloves. 

Luke pouted. Jyn hid her face in Cassian’s shoulder, laughter ringing out of her. Cassian was still attempting to look stoic. He was failing spectacularly, but Bodhi gave him credit for the effort. Bodhi looked down at his hand, and found that he couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. When it wasn’t eating his lunch, the squirrel was actually kind of cute. That didn’t mean he was making any plans to keep the ridiculous thing, but it was a nice distraction from the monotony of life on base and the ever present cold. 

He glanced over at Luke, who had shifted from pouting to staring wistfully at Bodhi’s hand. “Do you want to try again?” he asked, holding his hand out. Luke perked up a little, reaching out more cautiously this time. The squirrel twitched, and Bodhi made a noise that he hoped was soothing, something that he possibly remembered hearing from his mother back when they’d still had the luxury of keeping chickens. The squirrel twitched its head to one side, big eyes open wide and trusting, and allowed Luke to touch his fingers to the top of its head. 

After a moment, it shivered, and Luke pulled his hand away. “I think he’s cold,” he said quietly. Bodhi looked down at the animal, and it stared back, it’s eyes seeming to grow bigger every moment that they spent regarding each other. 

“Don’t get used to this,” he said, solemnly. Then, he held his coat open and let the squirrel crawl inside. Across from him, Jyn gave one loud snort and fell onto the floor. Bodhi rolled his eyes, looked down at his decimated lunch and decided that he wasn’t hungry anymore. 

“Someday, something embarrassing is going to happen to you, Jyn Erso. And I will remember this moment.” Bodhi scowled at her, but there was a bit of a smile mixed in, so he wasn’t sure how effective it really was. He stood up from the bench, climbing out and turning to grab his tray as an afterthought. Jyn was still lying on the floor, propped up on her elbows now. 

“Bye, Bodhi! Bye, Mr. Squirrel!”

Bodhi scrunched his shoulders up around his ears and groaned to himself. He was never going to live this down. Inside his coat, sharp nails pricked through his coveralls, a low rumble starting to vibrate against his chest. Dumping his tray in the pile by the door, Bodhi walked out into the hall, pausing for a moment and then turning toward the tauntaun corrals. Maybe someone down there would know how to get a Nevaan squirrel to stop living in one's coat. 

If not, he’d steal one from Cassian. He had plenty to spare and his girlfriend was a pain in the rear end anyways.


End file.
